Secrecy
by Fianan Gleoite
Summary: I saw a flash of red... and I heard my own breathing. Rated T for safety.
1. Gray Meets Bronze

**Secrecy**

**Chapter One – Grey Meets Bronze**

**WARNING: May contain curses. This fanfiction is a ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs. Thank you!_

She panted, looking behind her—eyes filled with willpower. Shortly observing the metallic bug behind her, she looked back ahead of her and fastened her pace. Spotting a nearby rock, which was essential for her to hide in, she ran towards it and sat down, catching her breath. Her heart was beating fast as she had been running for several minutes. She felt hot—sweat trickled down her head.

She relaxed her shoulders as a white fox sat beside her, its nine tails wagging elegantly. She patted its head, "I guess that we have no choice but to finish _that _off," she said, slightly tired. The fox nodded, agreeing with her. "But how?" she asked her, scrunching her eyebrows in deep curiosity. Suddenly, a bright glow came from inside her bag. Curious, she opened her bag to find her shindan's Spirit Amber glowing. She let out a small gasp, a plan immediately formulated in her mind. She looked at the fox, "Shiro, I'll need your help!"

The blonde, now riding on the fox's back, took out her weapon and readied it for shooting. "Shiro, once we get close enough to that gaichuu, I want you to use one of your tails to point its weak area and another tail to throw me towards its weak point, okay?" She instructed her pet, who complied. Once they got near the metallic bug, the fox—or Shiro did what she was told. Once it found the gaichuu's weak point, she then stretched one of its nine tails to it, all the while stretching another tail and wrapping it around the blonde's waist. With a nod from its owner, its tail stretched, and—with enough amount of force—threw the blonde into mid-air.

While airborne, the blonde aimed her shindan to where the fox's tail was pointing. The fox, knowing that its master found the weak point, immediately brought its tail back to its original shape. With no second to waste, she shouted, "Kiiro no Hari! ("Yellow Needle!")" And with that, a yellow visible light-like bullet made its way to the gaichuu's weak point. Seconds later, light gathered inside the metallic bug—signaling that it was about to burst.

It exploded, making the blonde fly backwards due to the force of the explosion. Just when her body was about to meet the ground's surface, the fox stretched its tails to her waist, ceasing her fall just several inches above the ground. The blond gratefully grinned at the fox, "Thanks, Shiro!" she exclaimed, earning a cry from the fox. "Good thing that dad taught me a few things about shooting and stuff…" she mumbled to herself, smiling at the thought of her father.

The blonde was now standing up straight, staring into space. "Hold on… why do I feel like something's missing?" she asked herself. Her gaze slowly landed on her bag. She blinked multiple times before exclaiming, "_My bag was open the whole time?_" Immediately, she rummaged through her things and panicked when the letter wasn't inside. "Holy Empress, Shiro, what should we do? The letter is gone and how could I pass the Bee Exam without it?" she was frantic. Multiple animated sweat drop-like figures appeared on her head as she searched for the letter everywhere.

Her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps approaching her. She immediately took her shindan and aimed it to where the sound was coming from. "Ready yourself, Shiro." She said, seriousness in her tone. She heard a pebble being crushed—rather accidentally seemed. She narrowed her eyes, "Kiiro—!" she was cut-off by a voice of a boy.

"Chill out," he said, appearing behind the darkness, a smirk on his lips. He had a Letter Bee uniform on, much to the blonde's shock. A black panther with electric blue eyes appeared behind him, and sat down elegantly. The blonde examined the boy more; he had dark, dark brown hair—or raven-hair—and bronze eyes with slit-like pupils— much like a cat's. "Are you done examining me now…" he said, his smirk growing wider, "Emi Hunter?"

Once again, she aimed her shindan towards the boy, "How did you know my name?" she asked him.

"I checked your files—it's part of being an Observer anyway," he said, slightly tilting his head upwards, proudly. He shoved his hands in his uniform pocket, one hand bringing out a familiar letter. He smirked, "By the way, I heard you looking for this."

Emi exhaled aggressively as she put her shindan back in her bag. Slowly, she walked towards the brown-haired boy and ceased walking when she was a meter away from him. Grey eyes met bronze ones. She snatched the letter from his hands with a small pout on her lips. "Thank you." She firmly said.

The boy smirked, "You're welcome." He said and turned his back, hands still in his pockets, and walked away.

Once he was out of earshot, the blonde made a small tantrum. "Urgh! The nerve of that person! Smirking all the time… I seriously wanted to rip that mouth off his head! Moreover, he's so arrogant! 'Are you done examining me now?'" she imitated his voice, but made it more playful. "It's just… urgh!" she exclaimed, comically strangling an imaginary brown-haired boy. Glancing at her white-furred pet, she immediately calmed down. She sighed, "I know, Shiro, we should get to work," the fox—or the so-called 'dingo', nodded. "But the next time I see him smirk again… I'll Kiiro no Hari him." She grunted as she started to walk angrily to her destination, with Shiro tailing behind her.

**…**

"Thank you so much, dear, for delivering my letter safely!" a ginger-haired woman, about the age of thirty, said thankfully.

Emi smiled, "You're welcome!"

The two women were interrupted with the sound of footsteps approaching them. "Good afternoon, miss," a familiar voice greeted the ginger-haired woman, in which she responded with a soft smile. The blonde then turned around to see the brown-haired boy from before. She blinked in shock. The boy stopped walking when he was beside the blonde—who was still staring at him in slight anger. "I came here to make sure that this _girl _delivered the letter safely," he said in a suave voice, but a hint of monotony was in his tone. "Did she?"

"Yes, she did, dear," the lady said, smiling as she cupped her cheek with one hand. She stared at the two teenagers, and blushed lightly. "I just couldn't help but notice how _cute _you both look together!" the lady exclaimed, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

Emi—who heard what the lady said—broke her gaze from the boy and looked at the lady in utter shock. "Eh?" she exclaimed, "No, no, no—_me and him_? No way," she denied, making the lady chuckle. She glanced at the boy beside her, and rolled her eyes at his calm expression. "Anyway, we need to go now, miss, bye!" she quickly said, and walked off.

"Thank you, dear!" she shouted towards the blonde. Once she was out of earshot, she blinked at the motionless boy. She smiled, "You take care of her, okay? She seems like a cute girl,"

The brown-haired boy frowned, "Tch. Fine, but I have _no_ interest in her." He said bitterly; as if he ate something he detested, and walked off as well, following the blonde's path.

The ginger-haired woman was left watching the retreating back of the two, a fond smile on her face. "Ah, young love." She said as she entered her house—continuing with her normal life.

* * *

_"Emi Hunter and Zazie Winters, to the Director's Office, scramble dash!" _a woman's voice announced as soon as the two entered the door of the Bees' home—the Bee Hive.

Emi heard the boy sigh beside her wearily, but decided to ignore it. "What do they want from me now?" he muttered to himself, lowering his cap. He suddenly walked ahead with no warning. The blonde decided to ignore him again and paid attention to the scenery in front of her. She softly gasped at the interior of the headquarters—the high ceilings and wide halls made her gape in awe, the chandeliers and the windows gave somewhat a royal vibe to the cathedral-like building. It was truly beautiful and it had a vintage feel on the blonde.

The brown-haired boy turned his head to face her, "Yeah, yeah, it's beautiful, now are you coming or what?" he asked her monotonously. Emi inwardly rolled her eyes at the boy and trotted until she was beside him. They both walked towards the office of their master—the so-called 'Head Bee'.

As they reached the front of the door, the brown-haired boy—or Zazie opened the door and went in, not even bothering to let the blonde in first. She pouted, but shrugged it off anyways. "Ah, Letter Bee Zazie," a deep suave voice said from inside. Emi peeked in, suddenly feeling shy. "Where is the girl—Emi Hunter?" he asked.

The blonde blinked at the sound of her name. Zazie, who knew that the girl didn't follow him, looked behind him and saw the blonde peeking from the ajar door. He quickly shook his head once to his right, signaling that she should let herself in. A few seconds later, she went in and walked until she was beside the brown-haired Letter Bee—who sighed.

"Why did you call me now, Largo Lloyd?" the Letter Bee asked, shoving his hands in his uniform pockets while staring at the blue-haired man in front of him in slight annoyance.

"Letter Bee Zazie, you mustn't call the Head Master like that!" a blonde lady with emerald eyes scolded the boy, who remained still—as if he was used to the scolding.

The younger blonde blinked, "Head Master…?" she muttered lowly, staring at the blue-haired man in front of her.

"Now, now, Aria Link, no need to worry," the man smiled, his framed eyeglasses glinting, "I'm quite used to this boy's attitude, anyway." With that said, the green-eyed woman calmed down.

"Tch, just spill it already. Wasiolka and I have to rest," Zazie said, now glaring at the two older Bees.

The man let out an amused chuckle, "I just wanted to congratulate you for completing the task as an Observer," he said, pushing back his glasses to its proper place.

The brown-haired boy then turned his back after hearing the Head Master's words. "If that's all then I'm leaving now…" he harshly said and walked towards the door.

"Thank you also for safely guiding this girl to the Bee Hive." The man added.

Zazie threw a sideway glance at the blonde girl and held the handle of the door, "Yeah… no problem," he quietly said, opening the door and leaving the room.

Once the boy was out, the blue-haired man cackled, much to the two blonde's slight surprise. After the short laugh, the man stared into the blonde's grey eyes. "Hello, Emi Hunter," he began, "I am Largo Lloyd—as you heard from that Bee's mouth—and I am the Head Master of this headquarters. Nice to meet you," he smiled as Emi nodded. Largo then pointed at the blonde woman by his desk, "and this is the Sub-Master—Aria Link."

Aria pushed back her glasses, and looked at the younger blonde. "Nice to meet you, Emi Hunter." She said in a formal tone of voice.

"N-nice to meet you, too, Sub-Master," Emi stammered, earning the amusement of the two.

"Anyway, Emi Hunter, congratulations," he said, making Emi's shoulders rise up in anticipation. "You are officially a Letter Bee." He stated, smiling.

The blonde's eyes dilated in joy. She grinned and bowed, saying her 'thanks' to the two adults. "Here is your uniform, Emi, please wear it as soon as you leave the room. I will show you a room where you can change," Emi nodded with a smile as she gratefully took her uniform from the older blonde's hands. Emi said her thanks once again. "Come, follow me." Aria said and walked towards the door, looking back at the younger blonde before opening it and walking outside. Emi then followed her to the room, the uniform in her hands.

She sighed,_ this day wasn't so bad… _she thought.

_I guess._

* * *

**A/N: **So yeah, I know Letter Bee is old now and no one would even read this considering how unpopular it has gotten, but the story plot of this just kept bugging me like hell. Seriously. So I also thought that throwing this story away would be a _huge _waste of my time and somehow, when I imagined it happening to another anime besides this… well, it will practically be suckish. So I concluded my thoughts that this will officially be a Letter Bee fic.

Yay.

(-_-)9

And since I could express this to practically _no one_—not even my friends _or _my family because none of them knows this **_amazing-est _**anime ever, I decided to put it up here. Besides, **I write to express, not to impress. **Welp, I just hope that you'll take your time to read this because **this baby has a sequel coming! **Yeah!

Anyway, thank you for everything. Bye!

**EDIT: **Just realized that Emi was a **Mary Sue**. *rips out said OC's whole being* *throws body into a dumpster, sets it on fire, and casually walks away* So I decided to edit a few Mary Sue-ish parts here. It didn't make a lot of changes, just minor changes. :)

* * *

_Please read my other fics: **Young Love**, and **But You're Not Here Anymore**! Thank you!_


	2. Meeting Sylvette

**Secrecy**

**WARNING: **This _might be _lame… and like before, it's a **ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO – Meeting Sylvette**

* * *

Emi went out of the room, clad in the complete Bee uniform. It has many similarities between the boys' uniform, but the only difference was the pants—the girls' pants are much skinnier and they wrap around the thighs and legs perfectly, unlike the boys' pants, which are rather loose. She looked at the black boots, which were right below her knees. _I should get used to this…_, she thought to herself, biting her lip.

"_Emi!_" a high-pitched voice called. Wondering who would know her when she was a newbie—besides Zazie and the two adults—she looked at the owner of the voice, which—much to her utter surprise—was a white-haired boy. He was running towards her, a blonde little girl following suit. Behind him was a chubby raven-haired Bee, carrying a dog with a red bandana wrapped around its neck on his back. She then wondered how her name spread like wildfire around the Hive.

The white-haired boy stopped in front of her, just an arm span away. Emi gave him time to catch his breath, as he planted his hands on his knees. After several seconds of silence, the white-haired boy then beamed at her. "Hello! You must be the new Letter Bee—Emi Hunter," he said politely, making her blink innocently.

"I-I am," she stuttered, quite in a trance.

The boy's smile grew bigger, "Well then, nice to meet you! I'm Lag Seeing," he said, bowing politely, which made Emi blink—unsure of what to do. He pointed to the girl beside him. "This girl right here is my dingo—Niche!" the girl—or Niche just eyed Emi, using a bundle of her golden hair to wave at the girl, saying her greetings. Emi smiled back. Lag then pointed at a white _thing _sitting on Niche's head, "That's Steak, Niche's bait."

The trio heard heavy pants from behind Lag. Emi blinked at the newcomer, and saw that it was the boy who's carrying his dog. Lag then pointed at him, "And that's Connor Culh! The dog he's carrying is his dingo, Gus," he stated.

Emi looked at the two in amusement. "Nice to meet you," she said, smiling rather shyly. She glanced at the two boys, the timid smile never leaving her face. The two boys grinned back.

Lag and Connor then gasped in awe, both pairs of eyes landing on the white fox beside her. "That's a nice fox!" they remarked in unison, stroking Shiro gently.

"Um, thanks…" Emi replied, somewhat at a loss for words, as she watched the two boys playing with her dingo. She noticed how Lag's eyes were looking fondly and lovingly at Shiro, but she decided to keep silent albeit her curiosity, which was growing. "That's Shiro, my dingo." She said, still watching the two boys laughing at Shiro, who was licking their cheeks.

Lag then stood up after playing with the white fox, still smiling. "I think I better head home," he said, directing it to Connor. He turned his head towards Emi, "Do you have a place to live in?" he asked her, earning a shake of the head from her. "Come with me then, Emi!" he said, his voice resounding through the halls of the Hive. Not waiting for an answer from Emi, he grabbed her wrist, bid his goodbyes to Connor, and left without a second to waste, Emi catching up behind him.

**…**

"I'm home!" Lag exclaimed as he opened the door, Niche bouncing her way in. He removed his hat and blazer, hanging it on the coat rack beside the door. He then looked at Emi, who was shyly standing behind him. "Come in," he said. As the blonde set foot in the house, she heard a voice coming from the kitchen—from what she observed, the voice seemed to be coming from a girl her age.

Lag grabbed her by the wrists and led her to the kitchen, where she saw a girl about the age of thirteen—just like her. Her assumption was true. "Hi, Sylvette!" Lag exclaimed.

She turned around, a graceful smile on her face. "Welcome home, L—oh hello! You must be Lag's friend, here," she said, interrupting her own sentence as she saw Emi standing by the entrance of the kitchen. She trotted towards Emi, her silver hair dancing with her movement and stopped half a meter from her, eyes shining in joy. "I'm Sylvette Suede, Lag's, um… housemate, I guess," she unsurely said, placing her index finger on her chin. "Nice to meet you!" she beamed.

"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Emi Hunter," Emi straightforwardly said, a small smile on her lips. She fidgeted with her sleeves rather awkwardly and played with her hair by running her fingers through them. "I'm a new Bee."

"Well, I'm glad to know that the Hive's accepting female Bees now," the silver-haired girl said, still smiling.

Lag interrupted their conversation with the clearing of his throat. "Sylvette, could Emi stay here with us? She doesn't have a house around here," he asked, already sitting on one of the chairs in the dining room.

"Of course she could! As long as she'd like!" she exclaimed, taking the Emi's hands in hers in excitement. "I badly need a fellow girl I could spend time with—talking about anything and everything!" she beamed.

"What about Niche?" Lag asked, gesturing his hand towards Niche, who was busying herself by talking with Shiro.

Sylvette animatedly sweat-dropped, "Um, Niche's not the type of girl like I am," she said, "but I'm sure that you and me would get along just fine!" she eyed Emi, who was in front of her. Emi nodded in agreement, as she beamed at Sylvette. She then led Emi to the dining table. "Now, let's eat! Dinner's almost ready," she said and made Emi sit down.

After a few minutes waiting at the table, Sylvette then placed the hot pot of soup in front of the trio. As Emi observed, Lag's face paled as Niche blurted out, "Not the nasty soup!"

"My soup is the most delicious soup in the world!" the silver-haired girl argued. "Now, sit down and eat!"

Niche, with a grunt, sat down beside Lag. Sylvette served them all the soup. Before eating her own bowl of hot soup, she observed how slow Lag ate the soup—his face filled with disgust. Turning to her dingo, Shiro, she saw that it wrinkled its nose. She then turned to the silver-haired girl beside her, happily eating her own creation. Now, she blinked at her own soup, debating whether she'll eat it or not.

Finally, she decided to eat the soup. Taking a spoonful of the hot liquid, she eyed it first before bringing the spoon to her mouth. She comically paled, but then she forced herself to swallow the horrible-tasting soup. "So, how is it?" Sylvette asked, eyes glinting animatedly.

Like a robot, she turned her head towards the silver-haired girl. She removed the spoon from her mouth. "I-it's… it's great!" she lied—she didn't want the girl to be hurt. Sylvette nodded happily and resumed to eating. They all finished fast—since they strongly declined Sylvette's offer for seconds, much to her confusion. Seeing that Sylvette was about to wash the dishes, Emi offered, "I'll wash them,"

Sylvette smiled at her. "No, it's okay," she said. "You should go rest, I mean, you _did _work a lot today… do you have clothes with you?"

Blushing in embarrassment, she shook her head. "Um, I do have, but I don't think that it'll—"

"Finally! I could go shopping with a fellow girl!" Sylvette squealed, much to Emi's confusion. She then walked towards her, grabbing the Emi's hands in hers. "Let's shop for new clothes tomorrow, okay? I'll pick them all for you," she said, making Emi smile at her gratefully. "I have spare clothes, I'll get them for you," she said excitedly, not bothering the unfinished task she had. She urged Emi to follow her in her room, and so she did.

Sylvette walked to her closet, scavenging for clothes that Emi might like. After a few seconds, she exclaimed an 'ah!' while bringing out a frilly powder pink nightgown. "This fits you very well," she said, winking. She urged Emi to try it on inside her own room upstairs, "I'll catch up." she also added. Emi nodded, proceeding upstairs and into the empty room where she guessed that was her room, Shiro following suit. She took off her clothes and slipped on the nightgown, feeling its soft fabric against her skin. She folded her uniform and placed it inside the closet provided for her. She looked down and slid her hand down the nightgown, sighing in delight.

A knock on the door was heard, and Sylvette went in the room. "It _does _suit you!" she squealed once she saw Emi wearing her nightgown.

Emi blushed, not used to getting compliments. "Thanks…" she said, shyly. She then decided to sit on the carpeted floor, suddenly feeling exhausted. Shiro went to a corner, curled up like a ball, closed its eyes, and fell asleep. Sylvette then sat behind her, and played with her hair.

"I really like your hair, Emi, it curls so beautifully," Sylvette complimented, "your eyes are also pretty," the said girl blushed harder at the complements. She sighed, making Sylvette behind her giggle. She giggled then braided the Emi's hair, her honey-colored curls following Sylvette's hands. "So, anything you want to talk about?" she asked, gaining Emi's attention. "_Boys?_" she emphasized, giggling when Emi huffed in annoyance. "So there _is _one, huh? Who is it?" Sylvette asked in a teasing way.

"That—that boy with the cat eyes," Emi said in a low voice, folding her arms in front of her chest.

Sylvette tilted her head to the side, "Oh you mean Zazie? What about him?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Well, he's just so annoying…" Emi muttered, pouting. "It's like he was the greatest creature to ever roam Amberground!" she admitted exasperatedly, keeping her tone as low as possible, biting her lower lip to hide her anger. She unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her lap, hands fisted.

The girl behind her smiled with her eyes closed. "I guess that you only know Zazie's exterior," she said in a matter-of-fact. Caught by surprise, Emi blinked and turned her head to face Sylvette, looking at her with slight disbelief. "It isn't obvious but," Sylvette smiled wider, "Zazie is actually kind, playful and helpful once you get to know him."

"I highly doubt that," Emi muttered, her eyes animatedly shaped like a 'T' as her lips formed a cute pout.

Sylvette laughed quietly, careful to not disturb Lag and Niche's slumber in the other room. "Oh come on, Emi!" she silently exclaimed. "Once you've broken down the cold walls of Zazie, trust me, you won't regret it," the silver-haired girl said, placing the now-beautifully braided golden hair on Emi's shoulder. She turned around, and saw Sylvette standing up and leaving the room—not before winking at her and saying her 'good night'.

Once she was sure that the blue-eyed girl was out of earshot, she collapsed on the carpeted floor with a heavy sigh, her forearm over her forehead. She stared at the ceiling while playing with her braided hair. "Break down your walls, huh?" she asked to no one in particular. "That's gonna be hard."

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the lame chapter—I really didn't know what to write. _Emi's look will be posted on my DeviantART account—I'll tell you when I posted it already. _:) So, Sylvette gets to walk in this chapter. I hope you're okay with it. :D By the way, I will be basing Connor's last name as 'Culh', not 'Kluff', okay? Okay.

**EDIT (6/20/14): **Okay so I decided to edit some minor parts in this chapter. I removed the '-san' and '-chan' since it did really sound weird when read. So I erased it. I also erased some unnecessary parts here, but must I warn you that the future chapters will be edited greatly due to suckish writing. :D

By the way, I need some tips on how characters could be introverted. I'm an introvert myself, but I couldn't clearly remember how I acted around strangers. I only remembered that it was torture. XD So yeah, tips on introversion please! Thanks so much. :)

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_Please read my other fan-fics: **Young Love**, **Different**, and **But You're Not Here Anymore**! Thank you!_


	3. Paranoid

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **This is where the fun starts! I think that this fan-fiction will be mostly up to 8-10 chapters, since the storyline is quite short. Don't worry, I'm not very sure about it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

**WARNING: **May contain curses. This is a ZazieXOC pairing.

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs. Thank you!_

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE – Paranoid**

* * *

"Ah, good morning, Emi!" Sylvette chimed in once the said girl went down the stairs, dressed in the Bee uniform. Knowing that Emi was looking for Lag, she said, "Lag went off just a while ago. He just realized that he had an important delivery," and walked until she was in front of Emi. "Is it okay for you to walk alone to the Bee Hive?" she inquired, her azure eyes evident of concern.

"Um, yeah, of course," she shrugged nonchalantly, making Sylvette accept her casual response. Emi went for the door, immediately declining—politely—Sylvette's offer to eat breakfast. (_"I made the special soup~!" she sang._) Before exiting the humble abode, she faced Sylvette, who was behind her, and smiled softly. "Thanks… about last night." Sylvette just nodded and told Emi to walk to the Hive hastily since she was running late.

Walking down the lighted streets, she looked around her surroundings—fascinated by how the houses were neatly lined in one row, the villagers were so diligent in selling their goods and the children and adults were so enthusiastic. She blinked at the Victorian-styled street lamps lined up on the side of the street, leading her with its brightness. _Yuusari is so nice, _she thought in amusement, a small smile gracing her lips.

She suddenly turned around in alarm. Seeing that nobody peculiar was behind her, she blinked and decided to fasten her pace. _That's strange, _she thought, _I seriously thought that someone was following me._ She glanced at her dingo, who was calmly keeping up with her speed. She suddenly inhaled a sharp breath as she felt a stare as sharp as a hundred daggers pierce through her back, sending shivers up and down her spine. She once again looked behind her. No one peculiar was in her field of vision—only happy villagers.

Suddenly feeling paranoid, she began to run, her dingo catching up with her. Her breathing shortened. Though she bumped into random people, she kept on running, not even leaving an apology. She looked behind her, and with a glance, she saw a cloaked man, staring directly at her among the crowd. Her eyes dilated, she felt her heart skip a beat. _Who is that? _She asked mentally.

Emi gasped and let out a squeak when she felt her body being collided with someone else's. She felt hands on her shoulders when she was about to fall on the floor with the stranger—stopping her body from meeting the cold cobblestone floor. "Are you okay?" a boy's voice inquired. She nodded, eyes staring at the ground as if the dirt were interesting to look at. The voice let out a chuckle, "you know, I don't really look as scary," he let go of his grasp on her shoulders.

Emi looked up, yet still tried her best to avoid his stare. "Yeah, um, sorry… but thanks, also. I have to go, and it was nice meeting you." she said in a hushed voice, but was still audible enough for only the boy to hear. She needn't to wait for his answers, as she nonchalantly took a step sideward and walked towards the direction of the Bee Hive.

"Wait up!" the boy exclaimed, causing Emi to sigh. He stopped walking as soon as he was beside her. He turned his head to look at the silent Emi. "What's your name?" he asked her.

Emi looked at him from the corners of her eyes before answering: "Emi," and she immediately reverted her gaze in front of her, avoiding the people who were about to bump into her.

"You're the new Bee, aren't you?" he inquired, and only earned an unvoiced nod as an answer. "You're a quiet girl, huh," he suddenly said after a moments pause. Emi's ears perked up at his statement and threw him a sideway glance before eyeing ahead of her once again. "Back in my past place, everyone—especially the girls—would always be noisy and cheery around me. They like me a lot, I guess," he said, and Emi observed a hint of longing and fondness in his voice, but she kept silent, signaling him to continue. "But you—you're different." He said, turning his head to his side to eye Emi, who was also staring back at him with her gray eyes.

"So… is that a compliment or an insult?" she questioned with a light smile forming on her lips.

A chuckle served as her response, but she didn't giggle back. "I'm Hiro Zen," he suddenly said, a charming smile on his lips—which would normally make a girl waver, but for Emi, she didn't. Hiro raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You know, you're really interesting." He complemented with a cheeky wink.

"Um, thanks," Emi dubiously said. When will the complements end? She asked herself, but it dawned on her that it was actually normal to receive complements from people at least everyday, so she had no choice but to grasp that fact and unknowingly sigh aloud as a consequence of her puzzling thoughts. "I guess…" she added, unsurely looking at her feet, which were taking a step forward each second. Left, right, left, right.

Walking side-by-side down the street, Hiro couldn't help but throw occasional sideway glances toward Emi, who continued on eyeing her feet, thinking as deep as him. It was outlandish, he thought, how she could act so calm and collected, never showing even a hint of fascination over his imperceptible lie. She didn't ask him questions of why or how come, or at least just some simple icebreakers and get-to-know questions. No, she didn't ask not even a single one. _He _was the one who provided her questions, but he was still glad she answered. _He _was the one who introduced himself, when she should ask him who he was. And then it dawned upon him—albeit being called dense by numerous people—that she was the type of person who just doesn't know how to interact. Or so he thought.

Deeply absorbed by his thoughts, he only then realized that they were already in front of the Hive. He blinked in slight surprise at Emi, who continued walking inattentively, eyes still on the ground. Wow, he thought with a chuckle, she sure is negligent. "Hey," he softly called out, an amused smile on his lips. He continued to eye her in hilarity as Emi snapped her head ahead and around her, before trotting back to him as soon as her eyes landed on his. "What happened to you?" he asked her, voice filled with delight.

Emi could only glare at him, but was counted as a joke, as her lips slowly twitched upwards. "You're so mean!" she faked sadness. "You know I was deep in thought."

"Oh really…" Hiro trailed off teasingly, his dark brown eyes half-open, his eyebrows raised. "How come?" he inquired, a smirk gracing his lips. The question made Emi silent; it was perceptible that she didn't want to talk about it, so he decided to brush the topic off. The problem he currently had was—how would he avoid the awkward tension that was gradually forming in the ether? He opened his mouth to try to talk, but no sound came out. He closed it and simply eyed the now-silent Emi.

"Hiro!" a feminine voice echoed from the Hive's doors. He knew that voice; he hears that voice everyday, wherever and whenever. He needn't to guess it was his cousin who was calling for him. He heard approaching footsteps coming near them. Louder, louder, louder, until it stopped half a meter away from them. _Thank you, Empress_, he inwardly exclaimed in great reprieve. "Where've you been? Why weren't you behind me?" she asked him in obvious anger as he turned around to face his fuming relative.

"I got lost in the crowd," he bluntly answered, much to his cousin's shock and annoyance.

"Seriously?" she asked him in incredulity, and received a nod as a reply. She rolled her emerald eyes at him and faced Emi, who was eyeing them. "Did he really?" she asked her, as if they've known each other for years, when it was apparent that they've just met.

Emi softly smiled and shrugged lightly. "I really don't know… I just happened to bump into him," she explained, Hiro rapidly bobbing his head up and down.

The newcomer mysteriously eyed Hiro up and down, as if telling him 'I'll keep my eye on you.' While doing that, Emi was absent-mindedly fiddling with her fingers, lips slightly apart. The girl turned towards her and grinned. "You must be Emi," she began, catching Emi's attention. "I'm Mia." Emi only smiled at her introduction, sometimes averting her gaze from the two's eyes. "So, have you done any deliveries yet?" Mia asked, breaking the awkward atmosphere between them.

"No, none yet," Emi answered with a shake of the head and a small smile. "Does the Hive have a library or something?" she suddenly asked, causing Mia and Hiro to look at her in surprise.

Hiro nodded. "Yeah, I've actually heard a library in there somewhere…"

"Where is it located?" she asked.

"I don't know, really. Never been there yet," he answered with a defeated shrug. "W—"

The sound of loud footsteps interrupted their conversation. They all whipped their heads to the sound and found themselves looking at Zazie, who had a rather annoyed expression on his face despite the lovely day they had ahead of them. "Oi," he began, his eyes half-opened. "Don't you all have important letters to deliver?" he reprimanded.

"Whoa, Zazie, what's with the voice?" Hiro mockingly asked as he smirked. He fixed his scarf and motioned his head towards Emi. "We're just having a conversation."

"Yeah," Mia shrugged nonchalantly, wondering why Zazie was in such a bad mood. "We're just making friends."

Zazie huffed as he shoved his hands in his uniform pocket—a slight habit of his. "Just get to work," he ordered, earning snorts from the two, bidding Emi their goodbyes—with Hiro winking at her and Mia scolding him for it—before leaving the two in front of the fountain. The awkwardness in the air immediately arose between them but Emi broke it by eyeing him once more before turning around and walking towards the Hive's door. He raised a brow and brought his feet to walk, trying to equal her cadence.

He slightly tilted his head to the side as he watched Emi's curls bounce as she walked towards the Hive. He found himself frowning after he sighed aloud, his bronze eyes still directed on her back as she entered the Hive, him following suit. Closing the door shut, his eyes once again found its way to Emi's back, which was facing the catastrophic scene in front of both of them. He knew it was time for the annual celebration of the Bees, but he didn't know it would be _that_ important that the Bees would look so cataclysmic before his very eyes. He heaved another heavy sigh of the day.

He blinked as he saw Emi looking left and right, as if formulating a strategy to get out of the mess and be alone. He didn't need to reprimand her, as he was feeling terribly the same as her. He wanted to start his day by delivering letters with his precious dingo and ending it with a peaceful sleep, but he doubted it would happen. "Hey…!" he called out, directing it to Emi. He, himself, was surprised as to how and why he called after her, and mentally prayed that she didn't hear him amidst the crowd.

When she was about to turn her head, he was—dare he say it—thankful that Lag was there to help him. "Emi!" he heard him call out. He saw bundles of white hair from where he was standing. Apparently, he was dragging her away, perhaps to show her what they were doing—or something he cares less about. He grumbled and took a few steps forward, finding his way through the crowd.

"_Letter Bee Zazie Winters and Letter Bee Emi Hunter, please proceed to the Director's office. Scramble dash. Thank you." _

Zazie's frown deepened. "What is it now?" he muttered to himself as he pushed his way through the crowd, eyes scanning the crowded hall to find Emi, or at least, to go to the office by himself.

"—yeah, okay. Bye."

His ears perked. He knew it was Emi. Although hardly ever speaking to her, he knew that what he heard was her voice. He then forgot about his original plan and made his way past the crowd in an instant, going up the stairs and walking down the second floor hallway towards the Director's office. His legs and hands were itching to finish whatever task Largo would assign him. Due to that feeling, he rushed towards his office.

After knocking twice, he gently and slowly opened the door, immediately removing his cap, showing his tousled brown hair. He silently walked towards the two adults until he was a meter away from them. His eyes were hard and burning with determination, as both his hands locked his cap across his diaphragm. A few silent seconds had passed and Emi silently entered the room, also removing her cap and placing it over her stomach.

"Good, you two are here," Largo began, his smile never leaving his face. "We both have a favor to ask of you," he added, locking his fingers on the desk. "Aria," his glasses shone as he nodded his head at Aria, who nodded back and turned to face Emi and Zazie.

"Now that most Bees are rather very hectic on decorating the Hive in preparation for the Annual Bee Festival, only a countable number of Bees were scheduled to do deliveries at least until half of the Bees are done with decorating," Aria explained, clutching her clipboard against her chest. "Apparently, Largo and I counted you as one of the Bees who would deliver letters for three to seven days, more or less."

Zazie frowned as he stared hardly at Aria and Largo. "Why us?" he asked, a hint of impoliteness in his voice, causing Aria to frown.

"You see, Letter Bee Zazie, you and Letter Bee Emi make a good team," Aria began, her emerald eyes boring holes through Zazie. When he was about to protest once again, she shushed him by raising her index finger. "Both of you are proficient in delivering letters, as you both completed the Bee exam with ease," she explained, "however, you often receive comments regarding dirty letters, Letter Bee Zazie, and that's very critical for our reputation, for there are chances it may go down.

"However, Letter Bee Emi is adept in keeping people's letters clean and in one piece, therefore, making her receive grateful comments from the receivers. Although having lost her letter in the exam, she has still managed to keep it spotless and not frayed…"

Zazie huffed. "I was the one who got it and gave it back to her in one piece…" he muttered, eyes on the floor.

"Her problem is gaichuu exterminating, where she is but a novice and is not yet experienced in that field," Aria said, ignoring Zazie's silent complains. Her eyes landed on Zazie. "This is where you come in once again, Letter Bee Zazie. As we all know, you specialize in gaichuu extermination for personal purposes," she cleverly explained, pushing her glasses up her nose bridge. "It is therefore beneficial for both of you to back each other up. Long story short, you, Letter Bee Zazie, will take care of the gaichuu while Letter Bee Emi will be entrusted in taking care of the letters. That way, it will easier for both of you to finish the deliveries. And I also trust that nothing will go wide of the mark," Aria said in a stern voice. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sub-Master." Emi and Zazie simultaneously answered.

Aria nodded and brought out the letters that needed to be delivered. "Here are the letters," she said, presenting the two an impossible stack of undelivered letters. "You can start delivering at any time you want, as long as you will finish quickly."

While Emi nodded and proceeded to stuff her bag with letters, Zazie stared at the stack of letters. "You expect us to deliver those within a _day_?" he incredulously asked, his index finger pointing at the stack of letters in front of him.

"I didn't say that you need to finish the delivery within a day, Letter Bee Zazie," Aria answered, her voice as hard as her stare. "I instructed both of you to finish it as soon as possible."

Zazie could only sigh as a response. He dragged his feet towards the letters and shoved them in his bag, closing it when he was done. He stood up slowly, slightly feeling heavy due to the letters. He walked until he was beside Emi, who looked as if she would faint at any time.

"I wish you two good luck on your journey." Largo said with a small smile before dismissing them.

They both bowed in reverence before walking out of the room, still struggling with their bags. As soon as they were out of the room, Zazie immediately released a gruff and annoyed breath, leaning against the wall. "Let's start this shit once the tenth bell rings, okay?" he ordered, tilting his head upwards until it was facing the ceiling, his eyes closed in exasperation.

"Okay," Emi answered quietly, eyeing Zazie, who was folding his arms across his chest.

He opened one eye, now tilting his head downward to face Emi. "Meet me in front of the Hive. Tenth bell."

"Okay."

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**EDIT (6/20/14): **Lol, while erasing everything and replacing it, I accidentally erased my original author's note. Silly me. XD Anyway, this chapter made a huge difference to me since I observed greatly that Emi is actually an introvert or somewhat solitary, so she should be quiet most of the time, unless around people she's close with; which is nobody right now.

I'm also not sure about updates at this time, since I'm studying under pressure right now, and Fridays are my escape. Seriously.

I hope you enjoyed the edited version of Paranoid! :)

* * *

_Please read my other fan-fics: **Young Love**, **Different**, and **But You're Not Here Anymore**! Thank you!_


	4. Expedition

**Secrecy**

**A/N: **This is just a chapter filled with regular events—and by that, I meant no gaichuu fighting or whatnot. Just Zazie and Emi spending their day as Letter Bees—with no gaichuus. So, yeah… action will come soon, don't worry! ;)

**EDIT (6/23/14): **So yeah, I edited some major parts of the story, to those who read this earlier, you'll notice a very big difference in it. I dunno, my writing may have changed ever since school has started but... eh. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this edited version! And I hope it'll never be done again, lol.

**WARNING: This is a ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite does not own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

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**CHAPTER FOUR – Expedition**

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"Too bad we're not able to shop because of that," Sylvette sadly said, washing the dishes as Emi ate a small piece of bread for early lunch. She turned around to face her, and beamed. "But we get to do it any other day, anyway. Delivering letters is your priority. I understand, Emi. No need to apologize!" she added, sitting down on the chair in front of Emi, planting her hands on her chin, watching Emi eat slowly, calmly.

"But even still…!" Emi lightly protested after swallowing her lunch.

Sylvette giggled as she waved her hand back and forth, as if swatting away a fly. "Don't worry! Like I said, you have to deliver letters first and do what a Letter Bee does," she said, "okay?"

"Okay…" Emi said in a low tone of voice, a small pout on her lips.

They both stayed in a comfortable silence afterwards, with Sylvette pondering on which day they would go shop, and Emi thinking about her delivery with Zazie. She mentally sighed; just when she abhorred a certain someone named Zazie, she ended up spending time with him instead of avoiding him all her life. But letters and hearts were priority—that's what she kept in mind. However, deep inside her, she knew that their Head Master planned all this and managed to make Aria join his one army.

This time, she unconsciously sighed aloud, catching Sylvette's attention. "What's the matter, Emi?" she asked, voice filled with worry and concern.

Emi's ears perked up as she felt herself getting hotter—her cheeks, especially. "I, um…" she stammered, not having to think that she actually sighed aloud. She felt mortified albeit they were two in the room. She then faked a small smile. "I'm just so worried about my first delivery…! That's all." She said with a nervous chuckle.

Sylvette chuckled. "Don't worry! You'll do great, I promise," she reassured, earning a smile from Emi. She stood up, running her hand against the fabric of her dress below her waist to straighten it. "Well, have you packed yet?" she asked her.

Emi blinked. "No, not yet."

Time passed by rather fast as Sylvette helped Emi with what clothes to wear and what to bring, which was a big help to her since she didn't know what to do. They both chattered away silently, with Emi now beginning to open up to Sylvette, much to her delight. They discussed about everything and anything that comes into mind, and Emi thought how fun Sylvette was, but even so, she felt slightly tired after all the talking.

Now standing by the door, bag in hand, she waved her hand goodbye at Sylvette, who waved back. "I guess I'll see you in a couple o' days?" she inquired, putting her hand down and planted it on the strap of her bag. Sylvette nodded, and Emi noted how sad her eyes looked despite her wide smile. But she kept silent. "Thanks so much Sylvette. For everything."

"It's no problem," Sylvette replied, waving it off using her free hand. "Good luck on your delivery, and by the time you come back, tell me _everything _that happened!"

Emi nodded, a smile decorating her face. "Okay. Bye," she said, turning her body halfway, her head still facing Sylvette, who waved back and ushered her to go, since it was almost the tenth bell. She smiled once again at Sylvette before finally turning around to leave for her first delivery—with Zazie, unfortunately. Sighing freely with her dingo by her side, she looked around her before turning her gaze to her feet, which was somewhat becoming a habit of hers.

Hundreds of things popped into her mind as she was walking down the street, and she constantly has an argument with herself over those things, in which she thought was weird. People bumped into her, and she apologized immediately. Some people just smiled, while other snorted, much to her disappointment. Emi then remembered the events about an hour ago, and she instantly felt shivers through her body. She decided to brush it off, as she was already in front of the fountain, where she found Zazie leaning on its edge, Wasiolka sitting elegantly beside him.

"You're late," he said once he caught sight of her, slowly standing up straight as his hands were tucked in his pockets.

Emi frowned as she stopped walking when she was a meter away from him. "Pardon me for walking a bit too slowly…" she muttered, but was quite perceptible enough for Zazie to hear.

"We'll be taking a carriage towards Honey Waters," he said instead of arguing back, walking towards Emi until he was an arm's length in front of her. "And we'll deliver _all _the letters as fast as possible. Hopefully, we'll be back in two or three days. Did you bring any Rin with you?" he questioned, his bronze eyes hard on hers. Emi nodded. He nodded back, slightly turning his back around. "Okay, good. We'll stick to the Sub-Master's strategy—I'm offense and you're defense. Got it?"

Emi nodded once again. "Yeah, okay," she answered.

"Let's go," Zazie ordered and she followed, both of them walking side-by-side towards their destination. The pair was quiet during their journey—none of them talking, unless about their delivery and their lines of attack. The long moments of silence were sometimes comfortable, with Zazie taking minute naps and Emi gazing out the window, unnecessary and useful thoughts in her mind; while the silences were also awkward at times, with both not knowing what to say after their small talk—which was torturous for Emi and Zazie—as they sat unnervingly on their seat.

"Excuse me, Letter Bees...!" The carriage man suddenly exclaimed, urgence evident in his tone. "I apologize deeply, but this is as far as the carriage could go. A rocky cliff is ahead and it would dangerous for all of us. Travelling on foot is recommended. I apologize."

"A-ah...! It's okay, mister," Emi courteously said, slowly standing up from her seat as she got her things. She nodded her head at Zazie and went out of the carriage, Shiro following suit, fishing out the exact money they needed to pay. "Here you go." she said, handing the manher change.

"Thank you, little miss," he said gratefully. "Have a safe delivery!" He exclaimed before riding off with his horses toward home. Once he was out of eyeshot, Emi softly sighed, turning around to eye the slightly steep cliff ahead of them. It was good that it wasn't a gaichuu territory, for it would be hard to battle them off on that kind of cliff.

Seeing that Zazie had already started walking, she followed, keeping her cadence as fast as his, but slower for her to walk side-by-side with him. She had her eyes on the ground, watching her feet alternately taking a step forward, her lips slightly becoming ajar due to zoning out.

Emi had always wanted to be as outgoing as some people—like Mia; who would never even be shy to talk to someone as if they've known each other forever when they've actually only met. But she couldn't. She wasn't shy—but when around adults, yes—but she was merely slightly solitary, or maybe even an introvert. Spending her childhood inside her house, reading books and trying to avoid large groups of people, she very well doesn't know how to interact as much as other people, but when it comes to her close friends, she would be really noisy, and she couldn't really fathom how that could be.

"Hey! Hey, hurry up, will ya? I wanna get this shit done already!" Zazie complained to her, snapping her train of thoughts. He paused in his tracks, obviously waiting for Emi to at least walk pass him or beside him. She chose the former, mumbling her apology as she passed him. She only received a sigh of exasperation as a response.

The silence was comfortable between them; Emi silently walking in front, while Zazie behind her, as if he was her bodyguard. They both didn't utter even a single word to each other, but they both didn't bother.

"Hey—hey, Emi...!" Zazie suddenly called out in the middle of the deafening silence. She turned around, her blonde curls sliding over her shoulder to her back. She threw him a curious stare.

"... What? What is it?" She asked him as he continued walking towards her, Emi glued on her spot.

He locked his hands behind his head. "See that honey-like water over there?" He asked her, now beside her as he removed one of his hands from his head and pointed the golden water which was flowing down an edge—resembling a mini waterfall. Emi nodded, head affixed on the water which was flowing out nonstop, somewhat feeling relaxed at the sound. "I heard that it's poisonous, so don't drink it. I know we're both thirsty." He informed, his voice firm, calm, yet demanding.

"Um, okay," Emi dubiously said with a small nod, eyes on his. "But I'm not really thirsty."

Zazie nonchalantly shrugged, his hands now in his pockets. "Eh, I'm just reminding you," he said, "don't want the defense person to get poisoned and get the letters dirty or lost." He added reluctantly, much to Emi's slightest annoyance.

"Don't worry, I'm one hundred percent sure that I have my brain with me," Emi told him, bother evident in her tone, yet her lips were stretched in a determined smile. "And I never take delivering for granted."

Zazie smirked, his bronze eyes locked on Emi's gray ones. "Oh, well, let's see about that." He mischievously challenged. Emi only raised one eyebrow at him before fastening her pace, leaving a confused Zazie behind. He watched her walking away from him, knowing that her eyes were on the ground. Realizing that she, indeed, accepted his fake challenge, he shouted: "O-oi...!"

Emi turned around, "I thought you wanted to finish this already?" She shouted back in a question, cupping both the sides of her mouth. Zazie only stared back at her, hardly. She put her hands down, turned ahead of her, and started walking once again, with Zazie catching up with her.

Reaching the town a few minutes later—the silence between them deafening—Zazie looked around, as if looking for someone important. Eyes scanning the numerous people who roamed the town, he didn't see a familiar blonde-haired blue-eyed girl who happened to be a friend of his, as they both related to each other's past. Emi only stayed silent in her spot, letting Zazie do whatever he was doing.

"It's you!" A familiar voice called out from a distance.

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**A/N:** Okay so I decided to tweak a little things here and there, and ended up with this. So yeah, I hope you liked the edited version better. :)

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_Please read and support my other fics: **Young Love**, **But You're Not Here Anymore**, and **A Wait Longer Than Eternity**! Thank you!_


	5. Tired

**Secrecy**

**EDIT (6/28/14): **A shoutout to MostlyJustBrielle for pointing out the mistakes in this chapter, lol. Although they were small... well, I'm a perfectionist when it comes to these, so yeah.

**WARNING: May contain curses. This is a ZaziexOC pairing.**

**DISCLAIMER: **_Fianan Gleoite doesn't own Letter Bee—only her OCs._

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE – Tired**

* * *

Zazie felt all-in when Ann finally arrived in front of him and Emi. Although doing nothing else but sitting and walking for a thousand miles—in his perspective—he felt worn-out for no valuable reason. He'd been trying to tell himself it was because he was in a bad mood—courtesy of Aria's explanation and a bad start of his day—but to his avail, he didn't think so, himself. He was just simply tired, and that was all to his day. Very tiring.

He knew himself, of course; he was always grumpy, and have always had a meager chance of people to see him smile genuinely. A smirk is what his lips wear almost everyday. But albeit those facts, he never counted himself as being easily drained. He exterminates gaichuus—a job which is deemed as very, very arduous as one must exert a lot of effort for him to not be eaten by the heartless creature, one must also have a lot of heart in him to defeat the metallic bug. But he kept wondering why he felt so _drained _by simply walking towards Honey Waters.

"Hey," he greeted oh-so casually and calmly, raising a hand with his signature smirk. He kept his eyes on Ann's serious deep blue ones. He put his hand down, shoving it in his pocket, his lips still wearing a smirk. "Long time no see, Ann." He added, voice still keeping the same tone despite his inward screams of lying down on a bed and just dozing off the whole day.

Ann eyed him firmly, scanning him up and down as if making sure he is the real Zazie. She nodded, hands on her hips. "Likewise, Zazie. You never changed a bit," she said, her voice as hard as a rock. Zazie bobbed his head downwards in a nod, acknowledging her observation. Her eyes landed on Emi, who was locking gazes with her feet. "And you," she called out, directing it to Emi, who snapped her head at her. Ann slightly tilted her head upwards, her eyes inspecting Emi. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Emi," she simply answered, glancing up at her then looking away again. For some reason, she was having trouble in looking at her, and assumed it was just her icy-blue eyes that intimidated her.

Ann nodded in slight interest of her simple yet informative answer. "Age?" she questioned more, slightly leaning forward.

"Thirteen,"

She nodded once again. "You're a female Bee…" she muttered, her blue eyes still inspecting Emi, much to her discomfort. She leaned backwards, hands still on her hips. "I'm Ann Grado, same age as Zazie," she suddenly said, earning a small nod from Emi. "We both met in this same place after a gaichuu almost stole a sack full of letters," she added, looking pleased as the memories flooded her mind. "He saved me from being eaten by one, and after that…" she trailed off.

"I promised to handle the letters here. Yeah, yeah, we both know that," Zazie said, interrupting Ann's statement with a bored shrug. He glanced at Emi before looking at Ann once again, noticing how tense her shoulders then and relaxed now. Small talks must've been series of torture for her. He knew what it felt, but he didn't want to say it. "Speaking of letters, Ann, we obviously didn't come here for chit-chat," Zazie straightforwardly said, causing Ann to raise an eyebrow at him. "We still have a lot of letters to be delivered. As soon as possible," he added, obviously not looking thrilled, "so we have to get this done, and probably stay the night." He turned to Emi, who looked far beyond him and Ann. He turned back to Ann, who nodded.

"Just give me the letters. I'll give them to the townspeople," she offered.

Although badly wanting another person to do his job—although more like a burden to him—he obviously didn't want a girl to do it. "Are you sure?" he inquired, taking out a hand from his pocket to fix his hat, stuffing it inside his pocket once again. He smirked. "They're a lot."

Ann huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "Of course I can, how old do you think I am?"

Zazie could only smirk and laugh through his nose at Ann's statement. At the corners of his eyes, he saw Emi give a fleeting look up at Ann, looking at her for a second, before staring back at the ground once again. "Then we'll just help you," He suggested, earning a small nod from her. He turned his head to Emi, who bit her bottom lip—quite deep in thought—before releasing it from her teeth, the color, from white, turning pinker and pinker. He lightly nudged her arm, causing her to snap her eyes up and around, and her head moving along with them, as if searching for something astray. Her gray eyes then landed Zazie's bronze ones. "Hey, are you still alive?" Zazie playfully said.

Absent-mindedly, Emi's lips slowly stretched into a somewhat embarrassed grin. "Sorry…" she shyly said with a small grin, slowly averting her eyes from the two in mortification. She felt her cheeks becoming warmer and warmer. "What is it?" she asked, cheeks still pink, as she gallantly eyed Zazie directly.

"You'll just help me in delivering the letters to my friends and other people," Ann said.

Emi nodded. "Okay,"

"And maybe after that, I'll show you a place where you can stay the night, perhaps."

Another nod from Emi once again, and off they all went to deliver people's hearts.

**o-o-o-o-o**

The moment Ann opened the door to their room where they'll be staying, Zazie immediately ran towards a random bed—which was by the window—and jumped onto it, gently and silently, like a cat. He groaned loudly in satisfaction as his sore body met the bed's supple and smooth texture. He felt as if he was in cloud nine. The bed's softness comforted his aching muscles and the smooth texture consoled his rough skin. "This… is… the best…" he softly said against the edge of the pillow, a satisfied smile on his face. He snuggled more into the pillow, feeling Wasiolka's weight by his feet.

His eyes were closed and his breathing slow and heavy. He heard the muffled voices of Emi and Ann, and the closing of the door. He felt too lazy to get up from the bed. Just as his body was about to give in to the demands of the bed and his own self, he heard Emi call his name. She told him to dress properly for sleep, in which he replied with an irritated groan. "… Just let me sleep…" he said, obviously bothered, and ordered his whole being to give in to the darkness of his closed eyes.

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**A/N:** Spare me for the shortness of this chapter. I was originally planning to combine some events here from the other chapter, but I decided not to. Anyway, I actually said that I was pre-writing this story, and well... I ended up editing it due to some crappy mistakes and childishness here and there. I somehow wanted it to be realistic. I would sometimes even put myself into Emi's shoes if I have to. XD

Putting that aside, editing would be slower than usual, since school is here. (School here starts on June, and ends on March.) I've been forced to studying under pressure and weekends are my only free time, if homeworks are done. But even still, I'll finish this story and the sequel, like I promised. :) So yes, I hope you liked the short chapter.

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******NOTE: **I am in need of having more knowledge about introverted_ness_, despite myself being one. (The kind that needs to recharge and have time alone after socializing for a long period of time. Sometimes, I would even get annoyed when someone disturbs that time wherein I _recharge_.) Any kind of information would do, as long as it is related to the one I want to know about. The personalities, fetishes, etc. Just comment it or PM me. Whatever floats your boat. Thank you!

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